The number of Medicare Advantage (MA) plans with a $0 premium dropped from 813 in 2014 to 726 in 2015, according to a recent HealthPocket survey. All told, 113 fewer counties had access to the $0 premium plans. Nebraska had 36 counties in 2015 that lost zero premium MA plans, followed by Montana with 25, Idaho with 23, California with 12 and Vermont with 8. Additionally, the survey found that there were 16 counties with no zero premium MA plans in 2014 but did gain access to such plans in 2015. The average star rating for MA plans with zero premiums in 2014 was 3.61, while the average for zero premium plans in 2015 was 3.83. Announcement